Hello Kitty Stormtroopers from Idoru (http://www.flickr.com/photos/idoru45/7552129)

TruFan

Role of Fandom as an influence on attitude

Trufan

"TruFan" is named after the internet slang term for a dedicated and loyal follower of an entertainer, cult, credo, hobby, pastime or genre (Barrett, 2004)

TruFan scale items from Wakefield and Barnes (1996) Personal Involvement

Study Context

The Fandom of the Space Opera

Attitudes to Advertising

Attitudes to Star Wars

Method

Surveypersonally administered to the sample population 200 surveys / 178 useable response (89%)estimated total population of 300 filmgoers (n=178, 60% response rate overall).

Selection of the sampling unit was based on the cinema where the author and their assistant had tickets to the midnight screening.

SampleGender

3:1 ratio of 124 males to 42 females (n=166).

Ethnicity 88% self identified as Australian, 12% self identifying with11 different nationalities represented (n=164).

Fandomvarious external indicators of fandom including

possession of official merchandise, wearing of t-shirts, carrying of light sabres or carrying stuffed Ewoks wearing full costume

Tipping the Scales

Fandom Scales Alpha N=

Personal Involvement (Zaichkowsky 1985) .9224 163

Fan Loyalty (Wakefield and Barnes, 1996) .8703 175

Personal Involvement and Fan Loyalty (TRUFAN) .9112 160

The Other Scales

Movie Optimism .8529 174

Attitudes to Star Wars Advertising .8244 165

Emotional Quotient Scale (Wells, 1964) .8507 171

Normative Pressure (Dann, 1999) .9120 172

Opinion Seeking (Flynn, Goldsmith, & Eastman, 1996) .7633* 173

Opinion Leadership (Flynn, Goldsmith, & Eastman, 1996) .7132* 171

Impact of Fandom

Self Identification as a Fan

Fandom and Optimism

Fandom and the Use of Star Wars Characters in Advertising

Fandom and the Yoda Advert

Self Identification as a Fan

Mean SD n

I am a loyal Star Wars fan 4.02 1.05 177

I will always be a Star Wars fan 4.16 1.03 177

I like to let people know I'm a Star Wars fan 3.66 1.22 175

Summed Fanaticism Scale 3.94 0.68 156

Involvement Scale 3.95 0.97 175

TruFan 3.52 1.15 163

Fandom and Optimism

Correlations TruFan InvolveFando

m

The trailer left me excited 0.495** 0.375** 0.407**

I am optimistic about Episode III 0.339** 0.283** 0.323**

I believe Episode III will be a good film 0.611** 0.459** 0.507**

I am hopeful about Episode III 0.462** 0.364** 0.407**

The TV commercials and trailers have encouraged me to be optimistic 0.277** 0.241** -

Fandom and Advertising

Correlations TruFan Involve Fandom

Not annoying 0.182* 0.159* 0.155*

Very persuasive 0.166* 0.199* -

Impressive, most impressive 0.203* 0.176* -

Fandom and the Yoda Advert

Correlations TruFan Involve Fandom

This ad is very appealing to me 0.189* 0.204** -

I would probably skip this ad if I saw it in a magazine

-0.202* -0.176* -0.152*

This ad has little interest for me -0.222** -0.187* -0.194*

I dislike this ad -0.326** -0.189* -0.213*

I'm tired of this kind of advertising -0.295** -0.202* -0.172*

This ad leaves me cold -0.202* -0.159* -0.253**

Fandom and General Reactions

moral rights of the creatoronly item in the study to have a gender difference at a statistically significant level,

male respondents (3.89) being more in favour of creator editing that female (3.41)

(t=2.204, p=.031) Correlations TruFan Involve Fandom

The creator of a movie has the right to re-edit their work 0.322** 0.283** 0.467**

Fandom in Review

demonstrable impact on attitude to products, existing movies, and significant influence on optimist appraisals of forthcoming products